Archive for the ‘United Kingdom’ Category.
August 19, 2010, 8:54 pm
Although the Gulf of Mexico oil spill recently highlighted the ways in which world governments, especially that of the United States, are overly subservient to the interests of multi-national corporations, it was 50 years ago that the US overthrew a government at the behest of BP. That coup took place in Iran and was the first in a series of US backed actions to install regimes more suited to the needs of corporations.
Stephen Kinzer is the author of All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror and Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala.
This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 18th of August.
July 7, 2010, 11:24 am
The actions that governments have been taking in response to the ongoing global economic crisis during the last three years have culminated in the decisions coming out of the G20 summit held in Toronto at the end of last month.
The powerful European states are calling for the implementation of harsh austerity measures to curb government debt after many governments outlaid huge amounts of capital to prop up financial institutions. These policies are characterised by the recent British budget and those imposed in Greece which mean sharp decreases in government social spending programs and other social safety nets traditionally associated with liberal democratic industrial societies. The importance of such moves was highlighted by a London Treasury Official quoted in the Financial Times as saying “Anyone who thinks the spending review is just about saving money is missing the point, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the way that government works.”
Back Story spoke to Ben Hillier, a contributor to Socialist Alternative about the state of the world economic system and the move towards economic austerity.
This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 7th of July.
July 27, 2008, 2:22 am
colm-bryce.mp3
In 2006 a group of Northern Irish peace activists disrupted the operations of military contractor Raytheon by breaking into one of its offices and destroying some equipment. The activists, who came to be known collectively as the Raytheon 9, were tried and found not guilty, the court finding that they had acted legally by preventing war crimes.
Julia Terreu spoke with one of the Raytheon 9, Colm Bryce.
April 13, 2008, 1:18 am
Diego Garcia is one of the Chagos Islands, and is the site of a strategically-located United States military base. In order to establish the base, the Chagos Islanders were forcibly expelled by the British Government and have since been struggling for the right to return.
We spoke the American University’s Assistant Professor of Anthropology David Vine, who is working on a book - Island Of Shame: The Secret History Of Exile And Empire On Diego Garcia. The book is due out in March/April 2009.
